Issue 13 - Winter 2011/12 - PACE Rehabilitation

W i n t e r 2 0 1 1 / 2 0 1 2 | I S S U E 13
N E W S A N D V I E W S F R O M O N E O F T H E U K ’ S L E A D I N G M U LT I – D I S C I P L I N A R Y R E H A B T E A M S
PARALYMPIC
SUPPORT
WATER ON
THE KNEE
PROSTHETIC
AESTHETICS
KIDS
RUN
WILD
Hot on the heels of previously featured Danielle
Bradshaw (inset), PACE has been working with another
young female athlete, Sophie Kamlish (15) from Bath.
Whilst running on her everyday prosthesis, Sophie’s track
and field potential was identified at a ‘Playground to
Podium’ event in 2010, promoted by Wesport (West of
England Sports Trust). Thanks to subsequent funding
from READY (Recreation and Easy Access for Disabled
Youth), Sophie’s parents approached PACE for their
specialist assistance.
Using an Össur © Cheetah foot, as used by ‘Blade Runner’
Oscar Pistorius, PACE prosthetist (and former Paralympic
sprinter), Jamie Gillespie worked closely with Sophie.
As he explains, “It’s impossible to set up such a specialist
device within the confines of a clinic fitting room, so
I travelled to Bath University to work with Sophie and
her sprint coach, Rob Ellchuk”.
Team Bath’s training facility provided the perfect
environment to carry out adjustments and fine tune the
device, before Sophie proudly took delivery of her first
specialist prosthesis. Sophie commented, “It’s fantastic to
have a sprinting leg. The difference is amazing!”
Sophie is now training hard for the 100m and long jump,
focusing her sights on the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil.
Meanwhile, Danielle
(13) is making excellent
progress with her above
the knee running
prosthesis. She said, “I’ve
been regularly setting
personal bests
and my coach is really
pleased with my progress.
We are looking forward
to competing in the
National Championships
in Preston in June”.
PACE wishes both girls
a successful 2012 season
on the track.

PARALYMPIC
SUPPORT
Paracycling
World Champion,
Colin Lynch
As Olympic fever begins to spread
across the country and preparations
for the forthcoming 2012 Games
intensifies, PACE Prosthetist Paul
Richardson has been selected as a
member of the international prosthetic
support team at the Paralympics.
As Paul explains, “I am absolutely
thrilled to have been selected from
the international recruitment by Otto
Bock”, continuing, “It will be a privilege
to keep the elite athlete’s prosthetic
devices serviceable”.
Paul will be based in the Olympic
Village for the duration of the Games.
Meanwhile, recently featured Paralympic
cyclist, Colin Lynch (inset), has achieved a
meteoric rise in his sport. Since working
with PACE, he has powered from being
just outside the top ten, to be crowned the
Cycling World Champion in Italy.
Another PACE paracyclist, Jon-Allen
Butterworth (right), recently set two world
records and took two national titles
amongst his victories at the National
Track Championships in Manchester.
The next edition of Your PACE will
feature PACE’s Paralympic athletes, as
they prepare for the forthcoming 2012
Games and strive for medal success.
EXPANSION
In 2008, PACE increased its
national coverage by opening
its second clinic. Since then,
the Chesham (Buckinghamshire)
facility has steadily grown to
firmly established PACE’s
presence in the south of England.
Recently, Prothetist/Orthotist
Paul Richardson and Workshop
Technician Charlie Smith
have joined the team at the
Chiltern clinic.
Paul brings his enthusiasm and
experience, including the proud
boast of being the only Prosthetist
to ever enter the Big Brother house,
having providing clinical support
for one of the contestants.
Paul commented, “I am delighted
to join PACE’s expanding team.
Its patient demographic is different
to the NHS, which I’m already
finding refreshing, challenging
and very rewarding”.
Charlie joins PACE having gained
his technical experience working
alongside Paul at Stanmore, at
the Royal National Orthopaedic
Hospital in Middlesex. As lead
clinician Jamie Gillespie explains,
“Having additional clinical staff
required an expansion of the
technical workshop too. Because
Paul and Charlie have worked
together for several years, they have
slotted into the team perfectly”.

MDT &
THERAPEUTIC
SERVICES
PACE’s services are established on
the proven multidisciplinary team (MDT)
approach to rehabilitation - ‘The whole team
for a whole person’. This is reflected in its
clinical assessments, patient provision
and outcomes.
In addition to the fundamental prosthetic/orthotic
and physiotherapy provision, PACE Counsellor
Sue Turner explains how therapeutic services
can contribute to achieving successful
outcomes for a patient -
“Therapeutic counselling provides a safe place
to offload, to voice the fears and anxieties that
can’t always be voiced to family or friends.
People are often fearful of counselling, they
are unsure of what counselling entails. The first
thing to remember is that the counsellor has
no agenda. In this type of counselling they
won’t be asking about your childhood, they
understand that what is going on for you now is
what is important, and you can say as much or
as little as you want to. It’s important to get
the right type of counsellor and at PACE our
counsellors specialise in trauma and can
answer the practical questions that the patient
doesn’t know who else to ask, or sometimes
just knowing that other amputees have felt
something similar is helpful. If specialist work
is required for anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress
or Phantom Limb Pain or depression this can
be incorporated into the sessions too.
“Meeting someone who has been through
a similar experience or has the same level
of disability is another good way to aid
rehabilitation. The PACE Rehabilitation Buddy
Scheme can provide this type of support for
both the amputee and their family. Initial
meetings with Buddies are facilitated by the
counsellor and all Buddies are well known to us
and are trained volunteers; they know what life
as an amputee is like and can offer practical tips
and understanding. The Buddy Scheme is also
open to anyone facing an amputation; this can
help reduce the fear of the unknown and the
anxieties surrounding a life changing operation.
“The ripple effect of trauma is often overlooked
in the need to support the patient. We all enquire
about the injured party but don’t think
to ask how the people around them are coping.
“After any life changing event or trauma, be it a
road traffic accident, an accident at work or a
planned surgery the practical and emotional
support the amputee needs takes precedence.
The wider circle of those affected, the spouses,
partners, and children or in some cases the
parents are often in need of emotional support.
The entire family is going through a grieving
process, be it for a lost limb, an identity or a
lifestyle. Their well-being and ability to cope
has a major impact on the rehabilitation of
the amputee, yet they are often overlooked in
the treatment process. Their world too has
been turned upside down but there is often
no space or time out for either party. This can
be both frustrating and daunting as both are
experiencing heightened emotions, fear of the
unknown and worries about the future and so
they all find it hard to communicate their feelings
to each other so they are left to fester.
“All therapeutic services provided by PACE,
including initial assessments, counselling,
E.M.D.R., N.L.P., C.B.T. and hypnotherapy,
are not limited to amputees but are open to
all victims of trauma”.
For more information regarding PACE’s
therapeutic services and Sue Turner can
be found on www.pacerehab.com.
PRODUCTS
FEATURE
NEW KNEES
German manufacturers Otto Bock, recently
launched two new prosthetic knees, with their
Genium microprocessor controlled device
and their Aqualine water activity unit.
The Genium offers even greater capabiliy than
their market leading C-Leg device, including
functions to step over obstacles and assist stair
ascent. The battery life is also significantly
increased, allowing 5-days before recharging is
required. One week trials are available at PACE’s
clinics for suitable patients.
The choice of components for trans femoral
water devices is limited. However, using the
new Aqualine knee, PACE patient Jon Bevan (58)
eagerly took delivery of his water activity prosthesis.
Jon was able to confidently and safely use the
device and after a day trip to Pendine Sands he
proudly contacted PACE via Facebook saying,
“Thanks guys, I did my first walk on the beach
and paddle in the sea for over 5 years today!”
Also commenting that at home, "Its provided a
wonderful feeling of freedom, to actually walk
into and stand up unaided in the shower!"

REALLIVES
PROSTHETIC
In 2009, 23-year old Daniel Hughes sustained
a below the knee amputation, as a result of a
motorcycle accident. His solicitor, Lisa Samuel
of New Law Solicitors Serious Injuries Team,
who specialises in amputation claims,
subsequently referred him to PACE for an
assessment and prosthetic provision.
It appeared to be a
regular referral, until
Daniel identified that
he wanted something
quite extraordinary,
in terms of the
appearance of his
prosthesis. As he
explains, “I’d lost
my leg. I wasn’t
interested in having
something that was
trying to look like its
replacement, I wanted
something different”.
AESTHETICS
Daniel arrived with some design
ideas and asked if PACE could
try and incorporate them into
his prosthetic provision. His
prosthetist, Jamie Gillespie,
explains, “At PACE, we are
fortunate to have access to
materials, knowledge,
experience and the attention
to detail required in order to
produce highly functional and
comfortable prostheses for
our clients. In return, we are
being challenged to improve
the visual design of these
limbs to meet the expectations of
our clients. Daniel’s design ideas were going to push
the boundaries of prosthetic aesthetics, but we were
confident of being able to satisfy his requirements”.
Working closely with the silicone team at Dorset
Orthopaedic, a bespoke and unique finish was
created over the prosthesis. Upon taking delivery
of the finished device, a stunned Daniel said, “It
looks amazing and is exactly what I wanted. There
isn’t going to be another one like this in the world!”
Lisa was also delighted, commenting “I know that
image is important to Daniel and that he wanted
something that had never been commercially available.
What PACE has provided looks fantastic, but more
importantly, Daniel is so pleased with it”.
BUILDING
THE FUTURE
The aroma of wet paint has been
emanating from PACE Cheadle recently,
following significant alterations to the
building’s interior.
To handle the increase in clinicians
and to provide larger clinic rooms for
patient assessments and treatment,
the technical workshop has been
relocated to a nearby off-site location,
thereby freeing up considerable space.
After a 2-week period of refurbishments,
carrying out the alternations, founding
director Toby Carlsson was pleased to
announce, “We now have a much more
patient friendly environment for the team
to deliver our rehabilitation services in.
Patient feedback has been excellent”.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
In 2012, PACE will be
arranging a karting and
a golf event, open to patients,
professionals and friends of
PACE to participate in.
With support from Dave Player from
KartForce, who provide karts with hand controls
to suit any combination of limb loss or impairment,
and some very useful amputee golfers, expect some
competitive rivalry at these events.
KartForce has been organising karting events with
hand controls for injured troops since August 2010
and is very keen to support PACE in organising
similar events for non-military amputees. Dave says,
“Our hand controls give amputees the opportunity
of competing on a totally level playing field against
non-injured drivers, which is virtually unheard of”.
Please email info@pacerehab.com to register your
interest in the karting and golf events.
CONTACT
PACE
0845 4507357
0844 4177332
info@pacerehab.com
www.pacerehab.com
search ‘pace rehabilitation’
YOUR
VIEWS
PACE is always keen to hear your views, if there are
any subject matters you would like to see covered in
the future issues or if you would like to tell the team
about your story, please do not hesitate to contact us.